Shaking before labor?

My pregnant foster was a stray, so I don't have a due date for her. She looks to be about ready, her milk is full, and she has had a little bit of bloody stuff for a few days. The kittens are always moving. Today she seems to be shaking a bit, when she lays down. Have you ever seen this before? Cheryl

Could what you are seeing be little contractions or does her whole body shake? It is so hard to describe something like this so it is difficult to know exactly what you mean ... it sounds like she is very, very close though.

Well she would shake and it did seem like her legs would draw up. She did this a little last night,too. Now of course she went back to sleep. Can they sleep while in labor? I have only fostered pregnant cats twice before, both times, they just went in the box and delivered. I have gotten lots of good info here, its fantastic!

Glad we could be of service! It is nice to know that information posted here is helpful!

From your description, it ~sounds~ like contractions have begun, and yes, they can go right back to normal activity after it passes. My own girl was a little restless about 3 hours before delivery, but I noticed the contractions and confined her in the queening nest so she wouldn't go off and have the babies somewhere unsafe. She waited until I came in and sat with her and then had her babies with no problems whatsoever. One thing though ... and thanks to my breeder-mentor for this very helpful tip ... one of the most considerate things you can do for your girl during delivery is to allow her to use the palm of your hand to press against with her back feet while pushing. *smile*

Thanks. She is laying about, once in a while she will get trembly. Not to be gross, but something is oozing back there..... She is confined in a bedroom, with a box set up, but she is on the bed. She seems happy enough, tho. This is about her 5th litter,even tho she is only around 2. As far as we know, all the others went fine. (we took her from a lady who refused to get her spayed, just let her roam about. The poor thing has been pregnant or nursing kittens her whole life. )

Bless her heart ... you will, of course, be putting an end to all of that once this litter has been weaned, won't you? Just as soon as the kittens are at about 6 to 8 weeks old and eating consistantly on their own, make the appointment to have this little sweetie spayed. She should be allowed to live her life free from the encumbrance of any more kittens.

Not to worry. Although I love kittens, I know that there are thousands of kittens needing foster care, so thats what I do. I dont want to offend any one here, but there is absolutely no excuse for bringing more babies into this world when so many are desperate for our help. I have her registered at the shelter I volunteer for, so she is technically a shelter cat. We do pediatric spay/neuter of all kittens and dogs, too. I think we were one of the first to start that in this area. In fact, my first foster was the very first kitten to be spayed at 2 pounds. we dont adopt out ANY animals until they are spayed, NO EXCEPTIONS. I have often had a nursing mother cat spayed,since the kittens were all going in together. Thats pretty much why I took this one in, since I knew if I didnt she wouldnt get spayed. I normally foster orphan kittens only, not pregnant, since I hate when kittens die, and I had a horrible experience last summer, the mom was sick and we lost all the kittens. But this time it was me or nobody for this little girl.Her name is Cher. I am anxious to get this birth part over with. Cher is pretty healthy, the lady who had her did feed her. Right now she is sleeping, although how she can sleep at a time like this isbeyond me!

*grin* No offense taken ... I am a breeder, but the fact is that I am a ~very~ small, home-based, hobby breeder/preservationist of Old-Style Siamese cats - my cats are my beloved companions FIRST and working cats SECOND at all times - the Old-Style Siamese are extremely rare now and while many boast the appearance, sadly, all too few have the pedigrees to back it up. I only have one litter per year and have a pretty long waiting list of people who are meticulously screened, so I know all of my kittens will go to stellar homes. The one thing I am not so happy about at the moment is the availability of pediatric spay/neuter here in my area. I would LOVE to consider this before placing my babies out as pets, but unfortunately, there are so few qualified vets in my area and of those who are qualified, their pricing precludes me from seeking them out.

If she's oozing, try to assess if it's her mucous plug with a bit of bloody show versus one of the sacks having already ruptured - there would be a risk of infection if no delivery of kittens w/one sac ruptured (I'd certainly want her to have delivered sooner than a day after such an event).

I am just a bit concerned re the shaking only based on my previous experience with a younger female and uterine inertia...she became so exhausted (I came from from work) apparently w/contractions and no delivery, that she was literally shaking gently all over...she required shots of oxytocin (aka pitocin) to deliver. Honestly, if she doesn't deliver tonight, I'd have her evaluated by a vet first thing tomorrow morning.

Of course, Pat&Alix is right ... *sigh* ... I can get so easily side-tracked. When you said she was shaking, I just presumed it was the contractions ... does the shelter you are affiliated with have a vet who can see you in the morning?

~gf~

P.S. Old-Style Siamese have a rounder, more robust body type than the Siamese we see in the show halls today who are more angular and have more of an extreme wedge-shaped head.

I have to agree with you Pat. The modern Siamese are simply gorgeous, slinky and exotic in their ways and I just adore the Queen-B*tch attitude they seem to have for a temperment (in the ones I have known), but the Old-Style Siamese just took my heart and never gave it back.